Building unit



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BUILDING UNIT Filed May 5, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Nov. 4, 1952BUILDING UNIT Wayne. P. Branstrato'r, Fort Wayne, 'Ind., Hubert J. Babb,Detroit, Mich., and Arthur G. Mess, Dayton, Ohio; said Mess assignor tosaid Branstrator and said Babb Application May 3, 1946, Serial No.666,914

This invention relates to improvements inconstruction units that can beassembled to ether toform the walls and roofs of residences and otherbuildings and to a methodof making and assembling the same.

An object of the invention is to provide construction units that arelight in weight but when assembled into a building are self-supportingwithout the use of beams, uprights, and rafters.

A second object of the invention is to provide a wall, floor, and roofstructure that will provide high heat insulation properties.

A third object of the invention is to provide a fireproof buildingconstruction composed of steel or other metal contiguous channels and asolidifying material such as cement or gypsum into which nails can bedriven at any point in the structure at will wherein the baseboard andother fixtures attached to the walls or flooring in a house orotherbuilding can be readily nailed into place.

A fourth object of the invention is to provide a fireproof buildingconstruction unit composed of steel and a solidifying material such asc'e ment or gypsum which can readily be cut to fit by sawing.

..An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows an isometric section of the component parts of one of the.construction units;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the assembled construction unitand illustrating how the section is connected with adjacent sections;

. Fig. Bis a side viewalong the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig.4 shows how the channel units are connected with adjacent units; I r

Fig. 5 shows a diagrammatic layout of the means to form the metalreinforce into channels;

Fig. 6 shows the means of forming inwardly As shown in Fig. 1 theconstruction unit is composed of three component parts and is describedas used in a floor construction. The unit is composedof a floor memberA, spacer member 13, and a main supporting member C.

The floor member or channel unit A is consti- 1 Claim. (01. 7268) tutedof a metallic reinforced structure formed of thin sheet metal shaped soas to provide parallel channels 2 and intervening contiguous chan nels3. The channels 2 are open at the bottom and the channels 3 are open atthe top. The walls 4 are common with respect to the correspondingadjacent channels, and tops 2 of the open-bottom channels lie in acommon plane, and the bottoms 3 of the open-top channels lie in a commonplane. The side walls 4 are arranged to converge toward the open end ofsaid channels.

In each of the open-bottom channels 2 and open-top channels 3 isdeposited a filling material lil, preferably consisting of aself-solidifying material such as cement, asphalt, gypsum, Gilsonite,etc. It is desirable to add to the above solidifying material a porousmaterial, such as Waylite, I-Iaydite, ground corncob, or any othersimilar material to form the filling aggregate, .de-, scribed in moredetail later. This self-solidifying filler is smoothed in with a rubbersqueegee so that the filler and the upper and lower metal channelsurfaces form smooth, even surfaces.

Similarly the main supporting member or channel unit C is formed of thinsheet metal shaped so as to provide parallel channels 5 and interveningcontiguous channels 6. The channels 5 are open at the top and channels 6are open at the bottom. The walls I are common with respect to thecorresponding adjacent channels, and in each of the open-bottom andopentop channels is deposited the filling material I!) of the samecomposition as used in the fioor mem bar A, previously described.

The. spacer members B can be of any convenient shape, but in Figs. 1 and2 a Z bar is shown. In order'to insure proper ventilation, holes orother apertures are punched in the web 8 of the 2 bar. Although only onespacer member B is shown, these members will be spaced along thestructure according to the load carried. These spacers form a lateralbinding means between the channels and prevent them from spreading andwherein the converging side walls firmly lock the filling material inthe channels.

The component parts are clamped together, and the metal channels 3 ofthe floor member A and the metal channels '6 of the main supportingmember C are fastened to the spacer member B, such as by electricWelding to the flanges 8 of the 2 bar. 1

We have found that construction units made as described above can bereadily cut to fit, since 3 backed by the filler and will not strip offthe saw teeth as will often happen when cutting thin steel sheets isattempted.

In constructing the floor, the construction units are cut to such lengthasto extend from foundation to foundation and it can be seen that thefloor member and main supporting member separated by the spacer membersform a bridge construction of great strength.

The entire floor is built up of a plurality of these construction unitslocked together as follows: The spacer B is offset from the center lineof members A and C as shown in Fig. 2. The wall ll of member A (Fig. 1)terminates in a flange i2 and the end channel 3 is recessed at l3. Onthe opposite side the wall 14 terminates in a flange I 5 and the endchannel 2' is recessed at I5.

Similarly, the wall I! of member C terminates in a flange l8 and the endchannel 6 is recessed at I 9. On the opposite side the wall 20terminates in a flange 2| and the channel 5' is recessed at 22.

In Fig. 2 the construction unit shown in solid line is illustrated aslooking with two adjacent units wherein the flanges and recesses of theadjacent units are numbered the same as for the unit shown in solid lineand also in Fig. 1.

On the left the offset spacer member B projects under the first channelto the wall 4' of the floor member A. In this position, flange it of thefloor member A fits into recess I3 of the floor member A, wall I I fitsagainst wall 14, and flange l2 fits into recess l5.

Similarly, flange 21 of the main supporting member C fits into recess 59of the main supporting member C, wall I1 fits against Wall 20, andflange i8 fits into recess 22.

On the right, spacer member B" projects under the first channel to thewall 4 of the floor member A. In this position, the flange I6" of thefloor member A" fits into the recess I3 of the floor member A, wall I lfits against wall M", and flange l2 fits into recess I5.

Similarly, flange 2! of the main supporting member C fits into recess H!of the main supporting member C, wall I! fits against wall 20" andflange l8 fits into recess 22".

Thus, it can be seen that the floor of a house can be rapidlyconstructed by fitting together,

precut lengths of these construction units upon the foundation of thebuilding into a rigid floor construction without cutting and fitting onthe job.

is that the thin common walls with respect to the corresponding adjacentchannels are rigidly braced against buckling by the filling material inthe adjacent channels. It has been found that, while the fillingmaterial of the type described above has a relative low tensilestrength, it firmly resists compression and thereby firmly clamps andsupports the thin common walls under heavy loads under which the thinsteel channels alone would collapse. Thus it can be seen that by lockingthe units together in the above-described manner the end side walls ofthe various channels of the construction units are firmly braced oneagainst the other, and, by reason of the double side walls, the flooringis even stronger at the locked joint than in the center oftheconstruction unit. If desired, the construction units can beadditionally locked by nailing through" One of the features of theseconstruction units ID, or the seams along the interlocking flanges canbe intermittently welded as at 22.

Having described our invention for a floor construction, it is obviousthat the walls of the building can be constructed of similarconstruction units placed in the uprightposition with suitable sectionscut out for the windows and doors and that a similar floor constructionfor a second floor will form the ceiling of the first-described For theroof construction, which has to support only a maximum uniform load ofsnow, a construction built up of sections of the main supporting members0 (Fig. 1) is sufiicient. These members are connected together as shownin Fig. 4 wherein corresponding parts are numbered as in Figs. 1 and 2.In this modification the flange 25 formed on the end of wall H is turnedin at the same level as the bottom of the recess 22. A flange 26 isfastened into the recess 22 as by spot Welding. The units are thenassembled as shown in Fig. 4 where, on'the left, flange 2i fits inrecess l9, flange 26 overlies fiange'25', and

wall I 1' fits against wall 20. On the right, flange 2|" fits intorecess [9,,fiange 26" overlies flange 25, and wall l1 fits against wall20".

The outside walls and roof are coated with a rust protecting material,and the entire structure can be protected if desired for decorativepurposes by a standard roofing such as shingles and the sides coveredwith clapboards giving theappearance of a house constructed of wood. Oneof the many advantages of the construction of this invention is that therequired strength is obtained with a gage of ,steel sheet of sufiicientthinness that nails can be readily driven through the channels and intothe solidifying filling material and aggregate of the type describedabove and described in more detail later. This roofing.

' and factory flooring. In such use, and especially where the units arecontinuously supported on a sub-foundation, extra strength against aconcentrated load is obtained by using a hard aggregate, such as crushedstone," with the self-solidifying material to form the filling materialfor the channels.

We'have found the following to be a desired formula for the fillingmaterial:

2 parts by volume crushed steel slag (Waylite) 1 part by volume groundcorn cob, treated chemically to make fireproof 7 1 6 part by volumecommercial crushed resin 1 part by volume commercial gypsum /2 part byvolume glue retarder to retard setting The above is mixed with waterinto a homogeneous mass and is fireproof, porous, and a good heatinsulator.

In Fig. 11 we have shown the flooring nailed to the floor member orchannel unit as shown in Fig. 1 wherein the upper channel 2 and lower'channels 3 and common side Walls 4 and filler ii! are indicated by thesame numbers. Over this is placed a layer of felt paper 33, and theflooring 3| is layed with finishing nails 32. Also is shown an angle 33firmly fastened in place by nails 34 for connecting a fixture in place.

On solidifying we have found that the gypsum forms a hard relativelyincompressible wall structure 34' which surrounds the Waylite 35 andcorncob 36, materials, which relatively incompressible wall structure issufficiently thin to permit the nail to readily penetrate, and that theporous materials are sufficiently compactable that the relativeincompressible wall material displaced by the nail can be received inthe space occupied by the porous filler material.

We have further found that the crushed steel slag (Waylite) is porous,as of an exploded nature, which is rotten enough to allow the nail topenetrate but hard enough along with the relative hard wall structure tofirmly hold the nail once it is in place.

We have further found that this aggregate is highly resistant tocompression and will stand the amount of flexure required of suchstructures.

In the manufacture of the channel reinforce for our preferred fireproofconstruction the contiguous channels with vertical side walls are rolledfrom flat sheet steel 50 (Fig. 5) passing through a series of rollers 5|where the channels are formed while allowing the sheet to contractlaterally with a minimum of drawing. As the channel structure leaves therolls it is cut into standard lengths 53 by the radiac cut off 52. Allof these operations are performed with standard rolling equipment as iswell known in the steel rolling art.

The standard lengths of channels are then passed into dies 54 (Fig. 6)to form the walls to converge to the open ends of the contiguouschannels. This die is operated by a compressed air cylinder 55 operatingon push rod 56.

A cross section of this die is shown in Fig. 7. This forming dieconsists of mating dies 51, 58, 59, 60, BI, 62, 63, and 64 which areconstrained to move horizontally by guide pins 65 moving in horizontalslots 66, in casing 61 and by reason of their sliding on cross rods 68.These dies are normally positioned in the position shown by springs 69.These dies are so shaped that upon compression by movement of plunger 55to the right the desired convergence of the channel walls is obtained.

Fig. 8 shows the dies in the fully compressed position. During operationthe channels contract laterally and to a small extent in the verticaldirection. The vertical contraction is provided for by allowing therequired clearance between the upper face of dies 58, 60 and 62 and thechannels and the lower face of dies 59, 6| and 63 and the channels asshown in Fig. 7 so that in the contracted position shown in Fig. 8 thechannels tightly embrace the dies. After compression the air pressure isreleased from cylinder 55 and the projecting ends of the contiguouschannels are clamped by an extractor, and the channels are pulled out ofthe dies against the force of springs 69 which are not of sufficientstrength to distort the formed channels.

After withdrawal, narrow plates ll (Figs. 1, 2

6 and 3) are fastened across the channels, as by spot welding to preventthe channels from spreading. The filling material is then deposited inthe channels. These plates H, as well as the spacer members 13 whenused, serve as a lateral binding means between the channels so that theconverging side walls of the contiguous channels firmly lock the fillingmaterial in the channels.

In Figs. 9 and 10 is shown an alternate method of binding the fillingmaterial in the channels. In this method the parallel channels andintervening contiguous channels 8| are shown with a Vertical common sidewall 82. In the common side walls 82 are punched a series of tabs 83which provide apertures 84. On filling the channels with the fillingmaterial the tabs will lock with the filling material, and the fillingmaterial in the alternate channels will unite in apertures 34, thusallowing the solidifying material in the filling material in adjacentchannels to form a common structure.

What is claimed is:

A fireproof construction including a first channel unit comp-rising athin sheet metal provided with longitudinal alternate open-bottom andopen-top contiguous channels having substantially vertical common sidewalls between said open-bottom and open-top channels, a hard,solidifiable filling material in said channels firmly confiningtherebetween said common Walls, lateral binding means fastened to thesheet metal and extending across the channels to prevent theirspreading, said sheet metal formed at the outer side edge of one of theside channels with an outwardly extending flange, a second outwardlyextending flange fastened to the side channel opposite said firstoutwardly extending flange and an inwardly extending flange formed fromsaid sheet metal on the other side channel, a second of said channelunits assembled with said first channel unit with the outwardlyextending flanges of said first unit firmly embracing said inwardlyextending flange of said second unit and the channel to firmly lock themtogether against relative movement in either direction.

WAYNE P. BRANSTRATOR. HUBERT J. RABB. ARTHUR G. MESS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,564,264 Murray Dec. 8, 19251,791,881 Yarwood Feb. 10, 1931 2,042, 38 Wells May 26, 1936 2,063,115Neergaard Dec. 3, 1936 2,104,506 Coddington Jan. 4, 1938 2,131,652 YoungSept. 27, 1938 2,177,636 Greulich Oct. 24, 1939 2,284,229 Palmer May 26,1942 2,356,309 Garbe Aug. 22, 1944

